Your Only Hope: An Open Letter To Fannie and Freddie Shareholders
Topic: Current Events
11:40 pm EDT, Sep 7, 2008
Dear Fannie and Freddie Shareholders,
You are screwed big time. I don't know what possessed you to continue to hold Fannie or Freddie common stock in recent weeks, when it was clear that Treasury Secretary Paulson was not going to protect the common stock in a bailout. You obviously weren't reading EPJ. I warned in July, that common stockholders in the two firms would be diluted down to near zero in the bailout. Maybe you were reading and following Dean Baker's useless advice.
Whatever the case, the worst still might be ahead of you. The Treasury has rights to a 79.9% stake in your companies for capital infusions of $1 billion each, but it is very likely that further capital infusions may be required which would dilute your pitiful stake even further.
More in the article. Comparison to the Chrysler bailout.
Do you ever get the sense that we (collective US we) are a bunch of tools? Between this and the starry eyed weepers at the DNC waving their Hope/Change banners, I don't know what to think.
City Councilman and mayor of Wasilla, Alaska (pop. 5,000), before serving less than two years as governor of Alaska. You gotta be kidding me!
McCain's decision to select a woman for VP is a transparent attempt to court some of Hillary's supporters, many of whom are not liberal, and being sore about their candidate's loss, are attracted to McCain as a perceived moderate. However, the VP may become the President, and Palin, having absolutely no foreign policy experience, is totally unqualified to be the President of the United States. This will be quickly apparent to everybody and it will blow up in McCain's face. It will destroy his candidacy, and unfortunately it will be a serious pock mark on Palin's here-to-fore admirable political career.
Obama and Biden are your new President and VP.
This election is over.
File me in the "protest vote for Barr" camp, although I do think the LP platform is viable.
I don't see this choice helping McCain at all. I am no fan of "windfall profits" taxes. This was one of my major sticking points with Obama, playing Robin Hood and giving US firms disincentive to invest here with his Emergency Economic Plan. Looks like Palin is doing the same thing already in Alaska:
In less than two years as governor, she managed a 6 percent increase in part of the state's budget, as well as being responsible for a windfall profit tax on oil companies—much like that proposed by Democrats and opposed by people like John McCain. And, according to CNN, "Alaska now has some of the highest resource taxes in the world."
This, of course, has disastrous consequences to development in the area. "BP Alaska, which runs Prudhoe Bay, said earlier this year that it had delayed the development in the western region of the North Slope as a result of the tax," the Seattle Times reported earlier this month. "ConocoPhillips cited the same reason for scrapping a $300 million refinery project."
Palin also was responsible for using $500 million in taxpayer money to help build a pipeline in Alaska, without the support of Alaskan oil companies. Without their support, CNN says many in the Alaskan government feel the pipeline will never be constructed, though the state will still be on the hook for half-a-billion dollars.
There is no dissension -- 25 percent is the right number.
THERE WILL BE NO DISSENSION. :)
Progressiveness is the additional share we capture when oil prices and profits are high. I chose to set the progressiveness knob [i.e., the windfall profits tax] at a relatively low level in exchange for more security when prices are low. We accomplished this through a gross tax floor at our legacy fields. If the Legislature chooses to discard that floor, then the knob on progressiveness needs to be set higher — to make sure we capture a more equitable share when prices are high and profits extraordinary.
Here we go with the windfall profit crap again. How exactly does that work when you ENCOURAGE production when prices are low and DISCOURAGE production when prices are high?
McCain/Palin? No thanks.
And for anyone who thinks VP picks don't really matter, there have been 9 VP's that took over the reigns. It's not unreasonable to consider, "Could the VP do the job?" The answer with Palin should be pretty obvious.
My Prius turned 1337 during it's third tank of gas. It's therefore (3)1337.
Yes, I did try to take a pictures while driving exactly 3 mph, but it was blurry.
How that for k-lame? Beat that!
LOL :)
I will have to dig up my odometer pictures. Yes, I have pictures of 31337 and 44100 from my Civic. I hit 31337 sometime in early 2006 and had the camera ready.
A motion picture essay which takes a revealing and shocking look at modern life and its imbalances. The first film in a trilogy which was followed by Powaqatsi.
If you like the 'Qatsi Trilogy, check out Baraka and Chronos. Both were directed by the cinematographer of Koyaanisqatsi, Ron Fricke.
RE: The Russo-Georgian War and the Balance of Power | Stratfor
Topic: Current Events
9:34 am EDT, Aug 17, 2008
Decius wrote:
The war in Georgia, therefore, is Russia’s public return to great power status... Russia has been an empire for centuries. The last 15 years or so were not the new reality, but simply an aberration that would be rectified. And now it is being rectified.
Why did the U.S. bless this conflict? Did they intend to provide Russia this opportunity to make a demonstration in exchange for some covert concession?
It occurs to me that perhaps they figured Russia planned invade outright and they wanted to push their hand early.
Was hoping Stratfor would have something public soon, good read. One angle that occurred to me was if we get something started, chances are the next US President, whoever it may be, will pretty much have to pick up the mantle. A little insurance by Bush/Cheney? Could they be that cynical?
As for the question of why did Georgia attack when they did, there's an old saying: When the cat is away the mice will play. The Olympics, Putin away, all that.
Here's something I just started, haven't finished but so far so good:
There are three basic facts to keep in mind about the smokin’ little war in Ossetia:
1. The Georgians started it. 2. They lost. 3. What a beautiful little war!
For me, the most important is #3, the sheer beauty of the video clips that have already come out of this war. I’m in heaven right now.
Could have done without the gratuitous cynicism towards the end with respect to the relative sexiness of casualties, but I guess that's this guy's schtick. Otherwise a good read. Very good dips into history, didn't know about the assistance the Georgian Christians rendered for the Mongols.
